Ketchup Red Glaze

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I used the ketchup red glaze from "Techniques &tips for Electric Kilns" and it came out brown. Is there a red glaze out there that really comes out red at cone 6? BUT the Glossy Black over the Blue Matt is beautiful. Thank you for that!

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The John Post article is right on. I have mixed several iron red over the past year and find slow cool is the big secret. Coyote's Really Red is a good cone 6 glaze, just put it on thick and no need to slow cool. Suspect it is an encapsulated glaze.

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Encapsulated mason stains will definitely get you bright red -- like those posted above -- but they always look "Crayola" to me. Add up to 10% or so and it's pretty hard to screw up since they're made to do what they say. Underglazes also will work in a pinch - Duncan "Really Red" underglaze is a good liquid form of red to add into your glaze or just use it over/under another.

Also, I've tested many commercial ^06/04 glazes (Like Duncan, Speedball, etc) at ^6 and many of them work just fine without any running (but always test first!!!!) since they're made so dependable and user friendly.

If you're looking for a reduction copper red at ^6, then that's different.

^6 Red to Green (reduction)

25 #3124

15 Gerstley

20 Neph Sye

15 EPK

15 Flint

5 Whiting

5 Zinc

1% Ba

1% Cu

Iron Red

^6 Berry Rust

26 Silica

27 EPK

7 Neph Sye

9 Bone Ash

13 Talc

18 #3134

12% RIOX

If anyone has other ^6 reds (esp. Cu reds) - mind sharing?

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For premade, Coyote also offers 2 copper reds; Oxblood and Snowy Plum. They are really cool, but need to be applied thickly to get the red. I think there is also a recipe in the archives for a chrome-tin pink that looked like it would be fun to try.

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okay.. it has been so long since I have been here complaining about ketchup red not being red that I am not sure that this post will go out there somewhere BUT I need to tell someone that I just emptied my kiln with a whole load of ketchup red with glossy black over and black with ketchup red over. In my 20 years, I have never been so pleased with a glaze. Comes out almost black but with variation on raised areas. It doesn't leave my fnger prints, drips, messes, etc., just a beautiful shiney glaze. I just microwaved a piece and it didn't explode... sometimes life is just good!

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In addition to recipe, do you use a special firing/cooling schedule for your kiln? That would be helpful, too, as iron reds do better with a controlled cooling and a hold at 1600F or so to promote crystal growth.

I've taken a cone 10 iron red (kaki) that came out brown and ran it through a bisque kiln firing . . . with good red results from the third firing.

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I've been working with a version of Bailey's Red, modified for Cone 8, but not much ketchup color yet. I may be putting it on too thick. On the other hand, it makes a very useful overspray for some of the other glazes I'm working with.

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I thought I would write, since I have tried mixing, glazing, and testing that same Ketchup Red Glaze you are talking about from that same book!

I did two test batches of that Ketchup Red and both batches came out brown, just like yours did. For the first test, I used just regular red iron oxide because I didn't have the spanish oxide that the recipe called for. I mixed 3 batches, one with 3% of the oxide, one with 5%, and the other with 7 or 8%. They came out pink and light pink in color. So I purchased the Spanish Oxide and tried again. This second test I mixed two batches, one with 10% of the spanish oxide and the second with 15%. Both also came out brown, but had more red in them.

I fired to Cone 5 with a 30 minute hold in an electric. My next test will be firing to Cone 6 and firing down slowly - as I have read that, too, to fire down slower.

Did you get the glaze to fire to red? What did you do differently?

Thanks,

Amy

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I have found that iron reds at cone 6 are greatly affected by the clay body. I have a wonderful iron red that works great on clay bodies that are lower in silica, such as stoneware clays. Specifically, in my studio we have great results on standard 630 and 112. On porcelain and white stoneware bodies the color is not nearly as good. So it may not be the fault of the glaze or the firing if you're not getting good red.